When the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics finalized a trade, Andray Blatche and Kevin Garnett became teammates. The two have a checkered past and an encounter that left Blatche working to hold back tears.

“I can say Kevin, he surprised me. We were playing one game against each other, I believe it was last year, in Brooklyn. I was playing against him and he said, ‘Hey man, just keep your head up and keep fighting,’” Blatche said, according to the New York Daily News.

Kevin Garnett and Andray Blatche will be teammates with the Brooklyn Nets. (AP Photo)

“When he said that, it caught me off-guard, because me and him have our history, and I said, ‘All right, I guess we’re cool now.'”

There was once a time when Blatche dreamed of hitting the NBA and becoming the next Kevin Garnett—until he was actually there and met Garnett.

In 2010, Blatche, the newly minted go-to player for the Washington Wizards, was charged with the task of facing off against Garnett and the Boston Celtics. Blatche finished the game with 23 points and nine rebounds, but struggled down the stretch.

After the game, according to the Washington Post, Blatche fought back tears as he recounted a physical encounter with Garnett, during which Garnett taunted him and Blatche reacted.

"I see myself as defending myself as a player. I'm a man, just like they a man. If a man is talking to me this close to my face," Blatche said, according to the Post. "I'm going to say something back. He has to respect me just like I respect him. I just, 'Get up out of my face.' He was this close in my face—I can feel his lips touching my cheek—I wasn't bragging saying 'Ah we winning.' It was 'Back up.'"

They had their tiff, but Blatche hopes he can develop a relationship with Garnett and learn from the player he once looked up to.

“There’s a lot of things off the court I can learn from Kevin Garnett,” Blatche said. “I’m really excited to have the chance to play with him and learn from him from one of the best.”